The Impact Of Home Environment On Students Academic Achievement In Tanzanian Secondary Schools: A Case Of Geita Town Council

ABSTRACT

This study, using the knowledge trained by the Socio-cultural Theory, examined the impact of the home environment on students‟ academic achievement in Tanzanian secondary schools using Geita Town Council as a case study. The study was predominantly qualitative though some quantitative data were used to supplement the findings. Data were collected from 95 participants, through interviews, observation, questionnaires and documentary review. These participants were sampled through purposive and simple random sampling techniques. In this sample, 50 participants were students, 25 participants were parents and 20 participants were teachers. The findings of the study indicated that the most influencing factors for students‟ academic achievement were family income followed by unfavourable learning environment at home. Factors like household chores, the lack of time for self study at home and the availability of learning materials at home affected the students‟ success at school. It was also found that the home environment has an impact on students‟ academic achievement. Students with positive and stimulating home learning environment were likely to achieve better in their academic performance than those who come from the poor home environment. Following these findings, the study recommends for parents‟ education as the most relevant strategy for the creation of conducive home environment for the students to improve their academic achievement at school.